The goal of every site owner is to rank on page one of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for their main keyword and as close to position one as possible.
It is difficult to achieve this goal because everyone wants a piece of that apple. Even if you’re consistent and invest the effort, it can be done if you use and test the right search engine optimization (SEO) techniques instead of relying on wild guesses or blindly following random advice from so-called experts.
You should avoid making these five SEO mistakes that can negatively affect your ranking if you want to boost the ranking of your site.
- You’re not fixing your broken pages
Any number of things can cause a broken or dead link, including making a typo when creating it, deleting an image, video, or file, or moving a page and forgetting to update it.
It’s bad for the internet and it’s bad for your website when pages break.
As a result, visitors get frustrated since they cannot access the information they need when they need it.
You can also harm your rankings when visitors leave a broken page within seconds. As a result of leaving so quickly, search engine algorithms usually assume that visitors didn’t find relevant information or high-quality content. Of course, this results in lower rankings.
Therefore, one of the biggest mistakes you can make that can hurt your SEO efforts and lower your ranking is not fixing your site’s broken pages, especially if you have backlinks pointing to them.
How to fix it
Check all your links regularly to make sure they are working properly. You can use tools like Google Search Console or the Search Engine Optimiser to find out if you have any broken links that interrupt the user journey and negatively impact the experience on your website.
The next step is to fix them. Find out why each link and page are broken by examining them closely. Once you have identified the problem, resolve it. Click here for more information about fixing broken links.
2. Your content is “thin”
What’s the point of indexing a web page or a website if it’s thin and adds little value to the page or website already on the web?
Providing relevant, high-quality information and the answers users need is Google’s mission.
Therefore, if all you have on your website is “filler content” that is neither original nor valuable to your audience, then Google won’t include you at the top of the search results. I wonder why?
How to fix it
If you want to achieve high rankings, you must create content that delivers value and makes an impression on your audience.
It’s the little things that matter: quality, helpful, information-rich content has grown in importance over the years. Still, great content adheres to the same basic principles.
As well as being well written and easy to follow, yours should be unique, relevant, and useful to your audience. Learn about what quality content means and how to create content that will show expertise and build trust in our post.
3. You’re targeting unrealistic keywords
While it’s great to dream big, you should also be realistic about what you can accomplish. You must first be able to run a 5K before you can run a marathon.
Your website’s SEO is no different. A realistic keyword strategy is essential if you are selling web design services, otherwise, your chances of ranking high are very slim.
Most site owners make the mistake of targeting broad phrases and keywords that are beyond their reach.
It is impossible for a small business to rank at the top of search results for a general keyword like “web design” or “web design services”, especially given the high level of competition.
How to fix it
Choose highly targeted keywords, also known as long-tail keywords, instead of competing for generic keywords with high search volumes. When you optimize your content with specific phrases and words that your target audience is searching for, you’ll have a better chance of ranking high.
Consider targeting long-tail keywords, such as “London personal trainer” or “weight loss personal trainer London” instead of using a highly competitive generic keyword like “personal trainer”.
According to this theory, the more specific your keywords are, the greater your chances are of ranking high and of attracting the right people who will actually be interested in your content.
We recommend you take our free search engine optimization course if you want to learn more about keyword research and how to target the right keywords in your content.
4. You have duplicate content on your website
A common SEO mistake is a duplicate content, which is a big red flag that can result in a penalty from Google.
It doesn’t matter if you have the same keywords or keyword phrases on two or more pages or you have the same exact content on a few pages, duplicate content is still harmful to your rankings.
Since search engines are smart, they’ll be able to tell if a piece of content is original or not. You’re unlikely to rank in Google if you’re creating duplicate content.
How to fix it
Each page should have original content that is optimized for relevant keywords.
Even if you create unique, high-quality content on every page of your site, it’s still possible to find you have duplicate content. Did you know that your content management system can also create duplicate content?
How can duplicate content be discovered and fixed? To get started, you can run an in-depth SEO analysis using the 123-reg Search Engine Optimiser tool. In this way, you can identify pages with missing or duplicate titles and descriptions, so you can fix them right away.
How? You have two simple options:
- Rewrite the content to make it 100% unique.
- Redirect the duplicate content to the canonical page using a 301 redirect. This is how you do a 301 redirect on any platform. The task should not be too difficult for your web designer.
5. You’re not taking steps to improve page load speed
When was the last time you checked the speed of your website?
In the SERPs, your site’s page speed is critical. If you don’t believe that, think again. In addition to losing potential customers and revenue, a slow loading page can also decrease your visibility in the SERPs.
Your site’s loading speed affects its ranking on Google, so if it’s slow, it’s unlikely to be on top.
Here’s Google’s official take on site speed: “Speeding up websites is important to all Internet users, not just site owners.” “Faster websites lead to happier users, and our internal studies show that slow websites result in visitors staying less time on the site.”
How to fix it
Your first step is to check your site’s load time by visiting Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool.